Larry Page's mysterious startup, Zee Aero, is
expanding its fleet of unusual aircraft as it races to
create flying cars that could revolutionize transportation.

Zee Aero registered two new aircraft with the Federal Aviation
Administration on January 18,
according to filings
seen by Business Insider. The aircraft type for both filings
is listed as rotorcraft, which means they use rotary wings to fly
like a helicopter.

Both of the aircraft use electric engines, according to the
registrations which allow Zee Aero to fly the rotocraft for three
years.

Kitty Hawk, a smaller subsidiary of Zee Aero that's
purportedly working on different flying car designs,
also registered in January to fly a four-seater Cessna
172 Skyhawk plane, which is the most-produced aircraft in
history.

Larry Page created Zee Aero in 2010 to reinvent personal aircraft
transportation, but his involvement was kept secret until
a bombshell investigation by Bloomberg Businessweek last
year revealed that the billionaire Google cofounder had
personally poured over $100 million into the project.

Gliders and sailplanes

An early patent held by
Zee Aero.USPTO/Zee.Aero

Collectively, Zee Aero and Kitty Hawk have filed more than a
dozen different aircraft registrations with the FAA to date, with
the earliest filings dating back to 2014. Different aircraft
types that have been registered include electric gliders,
rotorcraft, and fixed-wing designs that function more like
traditional, commercial planes.

Zee Aero has yet to publicly acknowledge or demonstrate its
technology. The company couldn't be reached for comment on its
FAA filings.

Since Bloomberg unearthed Page's involvement
in June 2016, Zee Aero and Kitty Hawk have registered at
least two additional glider and three rotorcraft planes with the
FAA. The filings signal that Page, who is the firms'
only publicly-known backer, hasn't pulled his financial support,
as Bloomberg reported he once threatened to do if his
involvement ever became public.

Aside from flying its own designs, the FAA listings indicate that
Zee Aero and Kitty Hawk have been testing other
outside aircraft, including the fixed-wing Cessna 206 and an
ultralight, engine-less sailplane with detachable wings
called the SparrowHawk.

It's not clear from the latest FAA filings if the newly
registered aircraft are designed to be piloted by a human or to
fly autonomously.

Shrouded in secrecy

Zee
Aero is headquartered at a nondescript, two-story building near
Google's Mountain View campus.Google
Earth

Zee Aero and Kitty Hawk share the same nondescript headquarters
near Google's Mountain View, California headquarters, according
to the FAA listings.

Aside from Page's backing, little is known about Zee Aero's
management. The startup has around 100 employees, according to
LinkedIn, and a handful of open positions listed on its website.
The Kitty Hawk division has roughly 30 employees.

Eric Allison lists himself as Zee Aero's CEO since March 2015 on
LinkedIn. Prior to that, Allison served as the
startup's director of engineering for five years. Zee Aero's
president is former Delta executive Fred Reid, according to
his LinkedIn profile.